


Hidden Self Seeking Malice

by Colleen17



Category: Emergency!
Genre: Drowning, Friendship, Gen, Hatred, Sequel, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 09:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/835303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colleen17/pseuds/Colleen17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a continuation of 'Hidden Self'. It takes place a month later. Our two favourite paramedics are plagued with accidents and mishaps. Neither man was ready for the hatred aimed at them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden Self Seeking Malice

Hidden Self Seeking Malice

The final weeks of Chet Kelly's vacation were spent protecting Johnny from Frank. Roy, Marco and Mike shadowed Johnny around the station, making sure he was never alone with Frank and that he was only paired with one of them. It frustrated Frank no end that the crew ignored him socially and kept him away from his prey, Johnny. Roy never found out why Frank disliked his partner so much.

 

It was a great day when Chet arrived back from his vacation. Johnny couldn't believe how happy he was to see Chet instead of Frank standing in the line-up for roll call. Chet couldn't believe the reception he got and the relieved faces that greeted him. He had brought back some pranks to play on the young paramedic but after his great reception he decided to wait a while before the phantom got his pigeon.

 

It was a mere two weeks later that the mishaps began. Roy came out of his house to drive to the station to start shift only to find he had two flat tyres. A nail in one and the other looked like it had a slow leaking valve. Roy quickly rang Johnny to get a lift, but thirty minutes later his partner hadn't arrived. Roy couldn't wait any longer so he got Joanne to drive him to work with both his kids in their PJ's riding in the back.

 

Johnny still hadn't arrived by roll call. Captain Stanley had asked one of the paramedics from C shift to stay behind to cover for his wayward paramedic. Roy was beginning to worry. He rang Joanne; Johnny still hadn't arrived at his house. Captain Stanley's phone rang; it was despatch letting him know Johnny had been involved in a traffic accident on the freeway. He walked out of his office to face three worried faces.

 

He put up his hands. "All I know is that Johnny was in a traffic accident and Vince is with him. It was Vince who contacted despatch ...who contacted us," he shrugged. "Tim can you stay or do I need to call in for a replacement?”

 

"Was he hurt?" Roy asked slightly alarmed.

 

"No, but clearly he won't be here for some time."

 

"I can stay Cap." Answered Tim; Cap went back into his office.

 

"Johnny! Are you alright?" Vince looked at his friend who was leaning against his car.

 

"Yeah, but look at my car." Johnny pointed to his car. The windshield had a small hole, with the spider web effect surrounding it.

 

"What happened?" Vince inspected Johnny's car.

 

"I was driving to Roy's...Oh no Roy; he's waiting for me to give him a lift to work. He's got two flat tyres." Johnny was pacing around his car.

 

"Johnny calm down. I'll call despatch and get them to let Cap Stanley know. He can call Roy." Vince walked over to his car and called it in.

 

Johnny walked back a little way along the road and picked up a broken brick. He made his way back and handed it to Vince. "This hit my windshield. I'm guessing it was thrown from there." He pointed to an overpass.

 

Vince looked at Johnny more closely. "Are you ok? Want me to call a squad?"

 

"Huh, why?" Johnny looked at Vince confused.

 

Vince pointed to his own face and ran his finger along his left eyebrow. He then lent forward and touched Johnny's face. He held his fingers up to show Johnny the blood. Johnny immediately lifted his own hand to touch his face. He suddenly swayed; Vince reached out to steady him. He made the younger man sit down.

 

He called for a squad. The call came through to station 51. The squad with Roy and Tim Watson made its way to the MVA.

 

"No no no." Roy was shaking his head. "It's Johnny." He exclaimed. He jumped out of the squad and ran over to Johnny. He knelt down in front of his partner. "Johnny?"

 

Johnny lifted his head; his eyes were a little glazed. "Oh hey Roy...I'm sorry I didn't get to your house to pick you up. I had an accident." Johnny's eyes rolled up and he passed out. Roy caught him and gently laid him back.

 

Vince knelt down next to Roy; he was very concerned for Johnny. "Vince, what happened?"

 

"A brick was thrown at his windshield from up there." He pointed up to the overpass. "It broke on impact and part of it must have hit Johnny. He was alright at first but as soon as knew he was bleeding he started to lose his balance and went all woozy." Vince looked on shaking his head at the now unconscious man.

 

"Delayed reaction Vince." Roy took his partner’s vitals and Tim contacted Rampart. Roy established an IV and loaded Johnny into an ambulance. Tim followed behind in the squad.

 

Brackett and Dixie were waiting "Treatment 3, has he regained consciousness?" Asked Brackett as he ran along with the gurney.

 

"Not fully, he's just moaned a little." Roy looked down at his partner. He was worried.

 

"What happened?" They transferred Johnny to the bed.

 

"A brick hit his windshield and part of it broke off and hit him in the head." Brackett examined Johnny's head.

 

"I want x-ray down here stat Dix, full skull series." He wiped the cut and Johnny's eyes fluttered open. "Johnny can you hear me?"  Brackett looked down at Johnny and waited for the young paramedic to respond.

 

"Doc...What happened?" Johnny turned his head and looked around.

 

"How about you tell me Johnny." Brackett smiled at his paramedic.

 

Johnny frowned for a minute. He was trying to get his thoughts together. The pounding headache was making it hard to concentrate. "I had an accident...a brick hit my windshield." Johnny went to raise his hand.

 

Roy grabbed it before he touched his head. "No you don't, I put a perfect IV in that arm." Johnny smiled up at Roy.

 

"Beats doing it yourself." Johnny turned his head, the portable x-ray made its way in. Brackett, Dixie and Roy left the room.

 

"I think it's just a concussion Roy." Brackett put his hand on paramedic’s shoulder, Roy half smiled and nodded. He was feeling guilty; Johnny would never have been on that freeway if it wasn't for him needing a lift.

 

Frank Patterson was rubbing his hands together. Everything went like clockwork. He laid out his tools; he had more installed for Roy and Johnny. Ignore me and throw me aside for that juvenile loser. He looked around at his dreary apartment. He hated his life and he hated his ex-wife and he hated Johnny Gage. In Frank Patterson's deranged mind it was everyone's but his fault, that he was living this way.

 

He read through the application for the Paramedic program. "Psyche test, physical and Entrance Exam!" He read out loud. He didn't like the idea of sitting for an exam. _‘Where could he get some books to study for it?’_ He asked himself. He couldn't go to Roy, and then it came to him. _'I'll call Johnny Gage, no hard feelings; tell him how sorry he is for being such a jerk, yeah that'll work. Dumb loser wouldn't know any different, besides if they get suspicious, being friends with his prey will keep him out of the equation._ ' With those thoughts, he put together another plan.

 

It was established that Johnny had a moderate concussion and was being kept in the hospital for observation. He looked at Roy from his bed "I'm sorry Roy.”

 

Roy was puzzled. "Why are you sorry Johnny?"

 

"I didn't pick you up and now you'll have to work with a replacement because I had an accident." Johnny sighed wearily, his head throbbed and his eye under the cut was stinging painfully. A bruise was slowly forming around the cut and his eye was bloodshot.

 

 

"Johnny this isn't your fault, it was just that, an accident. Why don't you get some rest? I have to go. I'll call in and see you when I'm here during runs, ok?" He waved to his partner and left.

 

Johnny sighed, who would throw a brick from an overpass he thought. It could have been a lot worse; he could have crashed his car into someone else. He shook his head and stopped abruptly, the movement brought on a bout of throwing up. He barely had time to grab the basin that had been left by the nurse next to his right hand. His head felt like it was about to explode with every heave.

 

He unexpectedly felt a cool cloth being wiped over his face and a hand rubbing his back. He looked up into the beautiful face of his friend Dixie. She smiled at him and passed him a glass of water. "Rinse your mouth Johnny." She held the basin in front of him so he could spit the water into it.

 

Johnny lent back, his head had settled down to a constant throb and his eye continued to sting. "Here I have some drops for your eye. They should stop it from stinging." With the action of a seasoned veteran that she was, she quickly applied the drops. Johnny felt instant relief. He opened his eyes and she was standing beside him with her hands held out, cup of water in one and two tablets in another.

 

Johnny took the pills and settled back in his bed. Dixie adjusted the covers. "Now get some rest Johnny." She turned to leave.

 

"Dixie!" She turned around and looked at Johnny "Thanks." Johnny closed his eyes, Dixie smiled.

 

"You're welcome Johnny," she said and left her favourite paramedic to rest.

 

When Roy got back to the station, he explained to everyone what had happened to Johnny. "Why would someone throw a brick at a moving car?" Cap said shaking his head in disbelief.

 

Everyone looked at each other with stunned faces. Chet reached out and put his hand on Roy's arm to get his attention. "Johnny's going to be ok isn't he Roy?" He asked, concerned for his pigeon.

 

Roy smiled at Chet's concern. "Yeah Chet but he'll be off work for a few shifts".

 

Everyone resumed their duties around the station. Roy thought about the morning events. First his two flat tyres, who would have thought the odds of that happening, and then Johnny being on that particular part of the freeway solely because he was picking up Roy. It all seemed incredible and implausible that all these events could take place in such a manner. The timing was what was worrying Roy, he had an uneasy feeling and didn't know why, but somehow the timing was too coincidental.

 

Roy picked Johnny up the next morning. He was feeling a lot better; his eye no longer stung and was only slightly bloodshot. His bruise was spectacular and his cut was slightly swollen. He still had a headache but it was manageable. Roy smiled at his partner who was sitting waiting for him on the end of his bed.

 

"Ready to go?" Roy motioned to the door.

 

"Yep." Johnny nodded slightly, slowly rose from the bed and started to walk. Roy's smile faulted at the unsteady figure, but he let his partner set his own pace.

 

"I spoke to Vince this morning, your car has been sent to the departments' body shop to get the windshield replaced. They need the broken windshield for evidence."

 

"When can I pick it up?" Asked Johnny, his movements were kept deliberately slow to avoid antagonising his headache.

 

"I'll pick it up for you this afternoon and drop it at your place. No driving for a few days Johnny, remember?" Roy said reminding his partner of Dr Brackett’s instructions.

 

Johnny nodded but abruptly stopped the movement; it brought on dizziness and made the slight throbbing turn to pounding. He stopped walking and squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

 

"You alright?" Roy took Johnny's arm and looked around for a familiar face but there was no-one. He helped Johnny continue to walk.

 

"I'm ok now Roy. I shouldn't have nodded my head, it makes me dizzy." Johnny pulled his arm free and continued to walk unassisted.

 

"Thanks for picking me up Roy." Johnny moved to his couch and sat down. "You want a drink or anything before you head off home?" Asked Johnny politely. What he really wanted to do was lie down and sleep.  The quiet apartment was too inviting.

 

"No I'm fine Johnny. I'll see you later this afternoon with your car." Roy could see his partner was very tired and thought the best thing for him was to leave him in peace to sleep. He said goodbye and left closing the front door gently.

 

Johnny slept the morning away and was awakened by the phone around 1pm. "Hello." He answered groggily, being careful and deliberate as to not move his head too much.

 

"Ah Hello Johnny...It's Frank Patterson, please don't hang up." Johnny took a few seconds to register who was on the line. His brain felt foggy from his medications and the sleep.

 

"I firstly want to apologise for the way I acted at the station. I was way out of line. I guess I was jealous...your close friendship with Roy...You see I've found it a little difficult to settle in here in LA and seeing Roy...well I thought we could just take up where we left off...but of course I realise that was stupid, too many years between...anyway I'm sorry for being such a jerk." Frank waited for Johnny to say something. If only Johnny could see the evil insincere smile at the other end of the line. A touch of insanity lined Frank's face in anticipation to Johnny's reply.

 

"That's ok Frank. I understand. I know how hard it is to move to a big city with no friends...Apology accepted." Johnny wanted to finish the phone call and take some pain meds. His headache was starting to return and he was finding it hard to concentrate on what Frank was saying.

 

Frank cringed at the niceness of Johnny's reply and thought to himself _'loser'_. "That's great, I'm so relieved. To make up for my stupid behaviour how about I take you out for dinner and we can talk and get to know each other."

 

Johnny thought it was a little odd for Frank to want to get to know him when Roy was his old friend. He thought it should be Roy he was asking out and also apologising to. "I can't for a while Frank, I'm on sick leave." Johnny used as a legitimate excuse.

 

 

"Oh I hope it's nothing too serious." He stated with false concern in his voice. He was hoping the opposite, and that it was caused by the brick he threw at Johnny's car.

 

"No nothing too serious, just a little concussion from an accident in my car." Johnny didn't want to go into detail; he still didn't completely trust this man. "Why don't you ask Roy, let him know you apologised and maybe he'd like to take you up on dinner and talk about old times?" Johnny tried to heal the rift between the old friends and get Frank off the phone at the same time.

 

"Yeah sure Johnny...hope you feel better and I'll give Roy a call. Oh I also wanted to ask for some help with the Paramedic entrance exam. I'm going to go ahead and apply."

 

"Frank you'll need to speak to Roy; he has all my books stored at his place. Just tell him I said it was ok to borrow them." Johnny was feeling a little sick and needed to get off the phone. "Frank I need to go, just talk to Roy. Bye." Johnny promptly hung up and took a few deep breaths trying desperately to settle his stomach.

 

Frank was fuming. “How dare that loser blow me off and then hang up on me.” He said through clenched teeth. He didn't want to approach Roy this soon. No matter, I'll get some from the Fire Department's library. He needed to start on his next plan; the books would have to wait.

 

"Sorry I didn't call, my phone line is dead." Johnny let Roy into his apartment. Roy had just delivered his Rover.

 

"I just made some coffee, want some?" Johnny headed for the kitchen. He was still a little sluggish with his movement but Roy didn't comment.

 

"That sounds good Johnny." He sat at the small table and watched his partner pour the coffee. Johnny placed some cookies on a plate and put it in the middle of the table. "How's the head?" Roy didn’t like how slow and deliberate his friend’s movements were.

 

"It's better...but...if I move it too much the headache comes back and I start to feel sick to my stomach." Johnny sat down opposite Roy and smiled. "You want to use my phone to call the phone company?"

 

"Thanks Johnny I'll do that now." Roy got up and made the phone call.

 

When Roy came back to the table Johnny said "All good?"

 

"Yeah, they'll be out first thing tomorrow morning. I told them I work for the fire department and needed the phone connected in case I was needed for work." Roy shrugged his shoulders "That seemed to get them moving quicker.”

 

Johnny smiled at his partners' cleverness. "How did the Rover look?" He asked remembering why Roy was here. His mind was still a little sluggish.

 

"It looked as good as new. I gave them your insurance details. They said there should be no problems since there was a police report filed."

 

"Good, I can do without that expense. I have some bills to pay this month." Roy looked at his partner, remembering back to when Johnny opened up to him and told him how he had a lot of medical bills for his father's cancer treatment to take care of.

 

"If you need any help….."

 

Johnny looked up at his partner and smiled. "No it's all good Roy. I've got it."

 

"You heard from Vince?" Roy asked.

 

"No. I don't think anyone saw it happen. It'll probably get filed away and forgotten."

 

Roy nodded. "Yeah. I still can't believe it happened." Roy said with disbelief.

 

"I can't believe you got two…." Johnny held up two fingers. "Flat tyres.”

 

"Me neither, but...I guess it was just bad luck. Been having a bit of that lately." Roy frowned, thinking about the phone line.

 

"Talking of bad luck, I have no hot water for a few hours." Johnny exclaimed.

 

"Have you checked with the landlord?" Roy asked.

 

"Yeah, the pilot light went out. Only mine no one else's." Johnny said frowning. Roy also frowned and thought about the run of bad luck between them.

 

Johnny made his way over to Rampart. He had an appointment with Dr Brackett; he was hoping he would clear him for next shift. As he drove along the freeway he felt a shiver run up his spine each time he drove under an overpass. He arrived at Rampart in a sweat and a little shaken. He figured it would take a couple of days of driving to push the fears away.

 

Brackett noticed Johnny was a little distracted and was concerned the effects of the concussion were lingering. "Everything ok Johnny...you seem a little preoccupied?"

 

"Yeah everything's ok...the drive in shook me a bit." He looked up at Brackett and decided to be honest with him. "I have to admit every time I drove under an overpass I felt a bit uneasy.”

 

Brackett's mouth twitched and he grabbed a stool and sat down next to Johnny. "That's to be expected. I'm sure once you get around a lot more the feeling will go. Just give it time. I must admit after your accident I found myself looking up each time I was about to pass under one."

 

"It was such a dangerous thing for someone to do." Johnny exclaimed.

 

"Yes, but it happens more often than you think. You're the first friend it's happened to and I hope the last." Brackett smiled and patted Johnny's leg. "Ready to go back to work?"

 

"You bet." Johnny’s face lit up, he felt a lot better having talked to Brackett about his feelings. Since the day he had opened up to his partner, Johnny had followed Roy's advice. He was no longer afraid to speak freely to people and accept their help.

 

"When's next shift?" asked Brackett.

 

"Day after tomorrow," stated Johnny.

 

"Ok you're cleared for then, I'll arrange the paperwork." Brackett got up and held the door open for Johnny to step through.

 

"Roy come and have a look at this." Johnny motioned Roy to follow him. He had just arrived for shift. Roy followed his partner out to the parking lot and Johnny pointed to his car.

 

"What happened?" Roy was shocked at what he saw. He mused he'd been saying that a lot lately.

 

"I found it like this when I came down to leave for work this morning." Johnny was really upset, there was a crack in his new windshield. "You know what else happened. I went to the bank yesterday to make a withdrawal and they told me my bank account had been frozen.”

 

"Why?" asked Roy.

 

"Because they thought I was dead. Oh yeah you'll probably get a phone call seeing as you're the executor of my estate." Johnny threw his hands up in the air "Can you believe it?"

 

Roy shook his head, he thought too many things were going wrong lately, he was starting to worry.

 

"I have no money to get this fixed so I'll have to drive around with a crack in my windshield...and...I had already sent out the cheque to make a payment on my father's medical bill."

 

"Surely the bank will cover it if they can see the funds are there."

 

"I hope so Roy, I could get into trouble over it."

 

"How Johnny, you're dead remember?" Roy put his arm around his partner's shoulder.

 

"That's not funny Roy. Do you know what it feels like to hear someone say to you...but you're dead...it was downright creepy." Johnny started to get dressed into his uniform.

 

"When will the bank sort it out?" asked Roy.

 

"I need to get you and Cap to sign some forms...saying I'm not dead...as if standing in front of them alive wasn't proof enough." Johnny sighed.

 

"Well, welcome back Junior...it's good to see you alive and well." Roy said with amusement.

 

"Ha ha very funny...just don't tell Chet."

 

"Tell Chet what?" Chet walked into the locker room.

 

"How does he do that?" Johnny said in disbelief.

 

"You still haven't answered my question," reflected Chet. He might not find out now but by the end of the day he was sure he would have the answer to his question.

 

Johnny pursed his lips together.  "I've got to see Cap," and left the locker area.

 

Chet shrugged his shoulders as Roy followed Johnny out of the locker room.

 

Johnny knocked on his Cap's door frame. Captain Stanley looked up and smiled. "John, welcome back pal." He put out his hand. Johnny shook it. Captain Stanley's persona changed to a sombre outlook. "I needed to talk to you before roll call. Sit down John." Cap rubbed his hands together and summoned up the courage to tell his paramedic the news he had just heard from headquarters. "John I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just come out and say it. Somehow news reached headquarters that you were..." he paused before saying "Dead.”

 

Johnny shook his head and bowed it in resignation. "Yesterday I was at the bank...they had been told the same thing." Cap was horrified.

 

"There's more Johnny, someone had already started the paperwork. Your wages have been stopped, insurance, benefits...I put a stop to it but it will take a couple of days to sort out. What it comes down to pal...you can't start work today...you're not covered."

 

"What, but Cap I can't afford any more time off." Johnny ran the figures through his head, already foregoing a few items from his list. He stood and ran his hand over his neck. "I don't even have enough cash to buy food let alone pay bills."

 

"John, that's what friends are for. I'll loan you some cash, so will the rest of the guys, to tie you over until this is all cleared up." He patted John on the back. Johnny was bewildered.

 

"Cap there's just one thing?"

 

"Yeah what's that?"

 

"Who said I was dead in the first place?" Johnny looked at his Cap for the answer.

 

"I don't know but I intend to find out. Now don't worry. Come on let's get some cash together for you." Cap led Johnny out of his office. Brice was waiting outside; he looked at Johnny with a frown.

 

"You're supposed to be dead Gage," he stated too casually.

 

"You wish Brice." John was furious with the way Brice addressed him.

 

"Ah Brice, go and put your stuff away. Roll call in five minutes." Cap led Johnny away.

 

"Yes Captain Stanley sir." He walked off as if everything was right in the world.

 

Cap explained everything at roll call including Johnny's lack of cash funds. Everyone including Brice pulled together and Johnny walked away from his station with $200 in his hand. Brice had an emergency stash in his car and gladly handed it over. Johnny was very grateful and promised to pay everyone back as soon as the whole mess was sorted out.

 

Dead man walking bounced through his mind as he walked to his car.

 

The young girl finished work and met up with her new acquaintance. She had lots to tell him. They had caused quite a stir with their joke. Frank Patterson was waiting by his car, as Judith approached him bursting with news.

 

She couldn't wait to tell him. "You should have seen everyone? They were running round trying to find out how one of their Paramedics was recorded as dead when he was very much alive...we caused quite a stir."

 

Frank smiled. "I would have loved to see their faces." He claimed as he kept his real feelings held back. She thought it was just some harmless fun.

 

"Was your friend's face worth it?" She waited in anticipation for Frank's response.

 

"Worth it, I couldn't stop laughing, had tears rolling down my face. I'll tell him next shift that it was all a joke." This satisfied Judith that the whole thing was just a friend playing a harmless joke on another friend.

 

"Well it will be all over tomorrow, everything will go back to the way it was and no one will be the wiser as to who did it." She said triumphantly.

 

"Now for that dinner I promised you." Frank opened the car door for her. "I have everything here, so your place or mine?" Frank was secretly hoping she would say hers because he had more than groceries in the bags.

 

She thought for a moment. "My place, I'll direct you, it's not far and that way you won't have to drive me home."

 

She was right it wasn't far. No sooner had she walked through the door of her small home she found herself falling to the floor after being hit on the back of the head. Frank dragged her into the kitchen. He turned on the oven's gas and left its door open. He walked into the front room and pulled out a candle. He lit it and left.

 

The klaxons sounded, several stations were called out, including station 51 to a structure fire. Roy and Tim entered the dwelling looking for the owner; they found her in the kitchen unconscious with burns to seventy-five percent of her body. Luckily only a small percentage of that was third degree burns. Lying on the floor had saved her from being more badly burned or killed.

 

Roy checked her over and found the lump on the back of her head. He assumed she must have fallen in the kitchen before she had a chance to light the oven.

 

Roy accompanied her to Rampart hospital. When he met up with Dixie and Dr Brackett he told them what had happened to Johnny. Dr Brackett shook his head.

 

"Johnny didn't need something else to happen to him, he was a little down when I last saw him. I hope he's ok." Brackett's mouth twitched and he frowned. "You guys have had an awful lot of bad luck lately," he stated.

 

"It does seem that way Doc; if I didn't know better I'd say someone had it in for us."

 

"Just be careful, both of you," firmly stated Dixie.

 

Frank Patterson rang his ex-wife and told her what a fool he had been and that he wanted to make it up to both his ex-wife and son. She agreed to come down to LA and let Frank see his son and accept some money from him to help pay for schooling. It was all arranged that she would leave early the next day and arrive late afternoon.

 

Johnny was home reading, there wasn't much else to do because he didn't want to drive his car with the damaged windshield and being so low on funds he thought staying home was better. He had dropped his forms into the bank and they said they would call when everything was fixed up. He was waiting for that call and had already heard from headquarters that the paperwork reinstating him was being processed. He was assured he would be cleared to work next shift.

 

There was a knock on his door and he was surprised to see Frank Patterson standing on the other side of the door. "Frank, how can I help you?" asked Johnny feeling a little reluctant to ask him in. He realised he hadn't told Roy about the phone call with Frank whilst on sick leave.

 

"Johnny I heard about the mess down at headquarters thought I'd offer you some company and pick your brain a little about the paramedic exam." Frank put on his best smile to win the younger man over.

 

"Oh right, won't you come in. Would you like some coffee?" Politely asked Johnny.

 

"A beer wouldn't go astray." He hinted.

 

"Sorry Frank no beer but I just made a fresh brew of coffee." Johnny held up an empty mug.

 

"Sure." He followed Johnny into the kitchen pulled out a steel rod from under his coat and hit Johnny on the side of his head and the top of his shoulder. He just wanted to knock him out not severely hurt him so he made sure it was more of a glancing blow. Johnny hit the floor and didn't move.

 

Frank tied Johnny up very tightly, gagged him and pulled his body into the bedroom and pushed him under the bed, after blindfolding him.

 

He tied his bound hands to one end of the bed and his bound feet to the other. He walked around the apartment and removed all family photos, which included photos of the DeSoto's and any personal items lying around. The address he had given his ex-wife was Johnny's.

 

He found Johnny's bankbook and a withdrawal slip for $350. Bingo he thought. He went to the fridge to grab the beer that Johnny had denied him only to find there was no beer. "What a loser. Who doesn't have beer in their fridge?" Frank said out loud. He made a sandwich and drank the rest of the coffee. The phone interrupted his snack, he answered it tentatively. "Hello."

 

"This is Mr Rogers from the bank Mr Gage, I'm very sorry about the mix up. Everything is fixed up. Feel free to use your account without any further problems. Again, we're very sorry about the mix up."

 

"Thanks." Frank said with a smile and hung up. He would make that withdrawal Gage had so kindly written out for him. He left the apartment to go to the bank.

 

The next morning Frank left for his appointments. He had a physical and psych tests, for entrance into the paramedic program. He checked on Johnny before leaving for Rampart hospital.

 

Johnny had woken during the night to find himself bound, gagged and blindfolded. He had no idea where he was. All his muscles ached, especially his shoulders. He couldn't feel his hands or feet. He was hot and thirsty and his head was aching.

 

He heard footsteps and felt someone pull on his hands and feet. He turned his head but nothing was said before he heard the footsteps leaving. He heard a door shut and then there was an unsettling silence. Johnny pulled and twisted his hands but there was no give. He was trapped and had no idea why.

 

If Frank had of stopped and thought about what he was saying to the psychiatrist and answering on the questionnaire he would have realised he was failing the psych test. It was obvious he didn't have the temperament to be a paramedic. The psychiatrist quickly alerted Dr Brackett that Frank Patterson was a no go for the paramedic program. There were very strict guidelines in place and there were no exceptions.

 

Dr Brackett called Frank into his office before his physical and told him that there was no point going on with the tests. "You don't have the patience to be a paramedic and we think you would have a lot of problems dealing with difficult patients." Dr Brackett stood and put out his hand and said, "Thank you for your interest in the program.”

 

Frank looked at Brackett's hand and scoffed. He quickly shook it and stormed out of his office. Frank's mood changed from annoyance to outrage. His twisted mind blamed Johnny for his failings. ' _Because of him he was in the wrong frame of mind, he would pay '_ He was going to pay for this, wasall he could think about on his drive back to Johnny's.

 

Johnny was sweating and breathing was a chore. His head was pounding and his shoulder was sending spasms of pain down his arms. He was growing more alarmed by the numbness of his hands and feet. He heard a door open and slam shut. Heavy footsteps made their way towards him. He felt tugging at his hands and feet.

 

He was dragged along a carpeted floor then onto cold tiles. He then heard water running. His breathing eased in the cooler surroundings but being blindfolded made him anxious.

 

"Looking a bit hot there, Johnny. How about I cool you down?"

 

Johnny's upper body was lifted and bent over something. His head was suddenly under cold water. He couldn't cough because of the gag and his nose was suddenly filled with water. It was the worst sensation he had ever felt. He couldn't stop himself from trying to breathe through his nose. Water cascaded down the back of his throat, he was drowning.

 

His head was suddenly lifted, he tried to breathe but water was still in his nose and he found himself choking. He tried to push what little air he had in his lungs up through his nose to clear it to breathe. It was horrible; mucus mixed with water came out in spurts. He thought if he was pushed into the water again he would surely drown, "Tell me I'm not good enough for their precious program will they. Who's got the power now? What would that Brackett think if one of his paramedics turned up dead? It's your entire fault. Loser!"

Johnny thought he was about to die a horrible death. Drowning was dreadful; you were too aware of what was happening to you. His head pounded and his ears roared. Water filled nostrils were choking him. His head was pulled up again but this time he found it harder to clear his airway. The soaked gag was preventing him from sucking in air to push through his nose, to clear it so he could breathe. The roaring in his ears worsened as he found himself falling into blackness.

 

He was dragged, semi-conscious back onto carpet and tied to something solid. He heard Frank leave and shut the door of the room. He could hear noises on the other side of the door. His nose itched, he couldn't sneeze his mouth was gagged. He tried to rub his nose on his shoulder. The action was painful, but the thought of sneezing overcame the pain.

 

Why was he doing this? That question passed through his mind. He concentrated on his breathing and tried to lie in a more comfortable position. His shoulder was now sending sharp pains across his back and his head was throbbing in time to his racing heart. He knew he needed to calm down but that was easier said than done, as he was still shaking a bit from the ordeal of nearly being drowned.

 

After having slept, Johnny heard voices, a woman's voice as well as Franks. He then heard a child cry out. Heavy footsteps made their way towards him, the door opened and he heard something heavy hit the floor next to him. He then felt something brush past him. "Stay here with your mother and don't make a sound or you'll feel this." Footsteps left the room and the door was shut and locked.

 

Sobbing followed by, "Mama, wake up," of a small child reached Johnny's ears from behind him.

 

The gag on his mouth, now dry had lost some of its hold on Johnny's mouth. He was able to move his lips under it so he tried to talk to the child.

 

He turned his head as far as he could and spoke. "Hey kid can you come over here and pull this off my eyes? I want to help you and your mom." Johnny's voice was muffled but he hoped the child would understand him. He felt small hands tugging at the cloth covering his eyes.

 

"I can't undo it," he said through sobs.

 

"Just push it down off my eyes." Johnny felt the tugging. It took a while but the child finally got the cloth partially down, enough for Johnny to see.

 

The boy sniffled. "It's going to be alright." Johnny tried to reassure the small boy. Before he could ask him to pull off the gag the boy ran over to his mother's side.

 

"Is she asleep?" Asked Johnny.

 

"Yes she won't wake up." The boy whispered through sobs.

 

"That's ok let her sleep. What you need to do is get out of here and go next door to get help. Do you think you could do that?" Johnny asked encouragingly.

 

"I don't want to leave mama." The child didn't move.

 

"I know... I'll watch her... she needs help. You want her to wake up don't you?" Johnny’s movement of his lips loosened the gag further.

 

"Yes," said the boy.

 

"Ok then this is what you need to do. Push that window up a bit further and then climb through. You'll be outside, where you walked earlier up to the door. I want you to go next door and knock on the door and tell them you need help, to call the police. Can you do that?" Johnny waited for the child to answer and hopefully work up enough courage to open the window and climb through.

 

"Yes I'll try." He sniffled and walked over to the window. He pushed but it didn't move. He pushed harder and got it to move a little. It was enough to get his head through and then he slowly pushed the rest of his body through.

 

He ran to the door down from the window he had just climbed through and knocked. There was no answer. He ran onto the next door and knocked. A kindly old lady answered the door. She took one look at the little boy and could see he had been crying.

 

"Oh dear, come in you poor thing. Where are your parents? Are you lost?" She didn't wait for the boy to answer and quickly sat him down and patted his hand. "Would you like a drink and some cookies, I just made them?" She smiled and nodded her head to the boy. He nodded back.

 

She came back into the room with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. "Where are your parents?" She asked again and waited for an answer this time.

 

"My mama won't wake up."

 

"Oh dear is she sick?" Asked the old lady.

 

"She's asleep."

 

"Oh in that case you stay as long as you like. There are plenty of cookies; I make extra for a young man a couple of doors down. He does odd jobs for me. Have you just moved here?" She asked because she had never seen the boy before.

 

"My dad lives here. He asked us to come and visit."

 

"Oh that's nice. Would you like some more milk?" The child nodded. "My name is Mrs Bunsen, what's yours?" She asked so she could keep an ear out for anyone calling the boy's name.

 

"Jimmy," answered the child. He happily munched away on the cookies.

 

Johnny thought he would have heard sirens by now. He could hear Frank talking in the next room. It sounded like he was on the phone.

 

"Roy, it's Frank. I'm at Johnny's. He's real sick Roy. I think you better come and check him out." Frank put on his concerned voice.

 

Roy was wondering what Frank was doing at Johnny's and why Johnny himself hadn't called him. "How sick Frank? Can you put Johnny on the phone?"

 

"That's just it Roy. He's so weak from being sick, he can't stand up." He was hoping that was enough to make Roy come over without talking to Johnny.

 

"Ok I'll be right over." Roy hung up and sighed. Something just wasn't right. He couldn't understand why Frank was at Johnny's.

 

Frank went into the bedroom. "Where's the boy?" he yelled.

 

Frank spotted the open window and frowned. He kicked Johnny in the stomach. Johnny felt both his shoulders wrench, the pain was overwhelming. His breathing became harder and he could feel blackness crawl over him till he felt no more.

 

Frank untied him from the bed and pushed him into the cupboard in the same room and closed the door. He grabbed his ex-wife and half walked and half dragged her down the back stairs. He looked around the parking lot, no one was around. He put her into his car laying her down on the backseat. He searched around the apartment's grounds for the boy. He cursed his ex-wife; it was her fault the kid had run off. This complicated things. What he had planned for Roy would have to wait.

 

Frank sat in the front seat of his car waiting for Roy to arrive. Damn, should have left a note he thought. He ran back up to the apartment, using Johnny's keys he let himself in and quickly wrote a note saying he had taken Johnny to the doctors and that Johnny would call him when they got back.

 

He waited in his car, keeping a look out for the boy and Roy. Roy's car drove into the parking lot. Frank laid down to keep out of sight. When Roy started to climb the stairs he sat up and watched.

 

Roy knocked on Johnny's door. There was no answer, he knocked again. He pulled out his spare key and opened the door. He walked in and called out. "Johnny, Frank anyone home?" The apartment remained silent.

 

Roy made his way to the bedroom. It was empty. He walked past the cupboard into the bathroom. There was water in the bath. He made his way back to the front room and walked on into the kitchen.' Nothing, how strange.' Roy said to no one. The whole apartment seemed strange but he didn't know why. He found Frank's note on the small table in front of the couch. He read it and frowned. There was nothing more he could do here so he decided to go to Rampart and catch up with his partner there.

 

He was surprised to find that Johnny had not gone to Rampart. Dr Brackett was Johnny's doctor. His partner would not go to just any doctor. He thought maybe Frank didn't know this but surely Johnny would have told him where to go. Things did not seem right to Roy so he went home to wait for his partner's phone call.

 

When Roy got home he mulled over all that had happened. Something was nagging at him. The phone rang surprising him, making him jump. "Hello."

 

"Roy it's Frank sorry I missed you. I took Johnny to the doctors." Frank had spent quite some time searching for the boy. He even drove around the immediate area. He went back into the apartment to make the call to Roy.

 

"What did the doctor say?" asked Roy. He still found it strange that Frank was with his partner.

 

"Stomach bug, he's asleep. He said he'll be fine. He had a drink and kept that down. He said he'd call you in the morning."

 

"Well ok if he thinks he'll be alright. Tell him to call me anytime if he gets worse?" Roy stipulated.

 

Frank cringed at Roy's concern for Johnny. "I'll tell him." He said with a demonic smile on his face.

 

Frank checked Johnny one last time, he was still unconscious. He closed the door and put a chair in front of the cupboard, hoping if anyone searched they wouldn't think to look in the cupboard. He couldn't take him with him, he was sure someone would see him dragging an unconscious man down to his car. He had been lucky that no-one saw him with his ex-wife. Not wanting to draw attention to himself he changed his plans once again. He locked the front door and drove his unconscious ex-wife home.

 

Jimmy had fallen asleep on Mrs Bunsen's couch. She covered him with a blanket; he had looked so tired she didn't want to disturb the child. She kept an ear out for anyone calling his name.

 

That night Roy pondered again over the day's events. He didn't know why Frank was at Johnny's, he didn't know why Johnny hadn't called him when he first got sick, he didn’t know why Frank took his partner to a doctor instead of Rampart, and something was odd about Johnny's apartment. He just couldn't figure out what. Roy drifted off into an unsettled sleep.

 

After tossing and turning Roy suddenly sat up and shouted "Photos.” Joanne looked at him startled. She was sitting up in bed reading. Roy bolted out of bed and started getting dressed.

 

"What's wrong?" she asked her very agitated husband.

 

"I knew something was wrong. When I was over at Johnny's apartment, something seemed not right and I just realised what. All his photos were missing. All of them."

 

Roy ran out of the room grabbed his car keys and ran to his car. The trip was short to Johnny's because it was after ten o'clock, no traffic. He ran up the stairs and banged on Johnny's door. There was no answer. He took out the spare key as he had done before and opened the door.

 

Roy switched on the lights. He was right; all the photos of Johnny's parents, station 51 and Roy's family were missing. He walked through to the bedroom and called out to Johnny.

 

The bedroom was empty. He was beginning to get very anxious. He walked past the cupboard and checked the bathroom; the bath still had the water in it. "Where are you Johnny he said to himself?”

 

There was a knock on the door. Roy answered it. A concerned Mrs Bunsen was standing there. "Oh Mr De Soto I'm glad you're here. I've been knocking on Johnny's door all evening. I have a little boy in my apartment. I don't know where he came from." Mrs Bunsen was talking very fast.

 

"You say he's in your apartment?" Calmly said Roy, but deep down he was screaming, he needed to find Johnny. He didn't need this distraction.

 

"Yes. Can you look at him and see if he's sick or something? I just don't know what to do." She was wringing her hands together nervously.

 

Roy agreed and followed her to her apartment.  “He came knocking on my door in the afternoon and said something about his mother being asleep.” A little boy of around five was lying on the couch fast asleep.

 

"Did he say what his name was?" asked Roy.

 

"Jimmy," answered Mrs Bunsen.

 

"Jimmy, wake up? Jimmy." Roy gently shook the child.

 

Jimmy opened his eyes and looked around a little alarmed. Mrs Bunsen saw the frightened look. "It's alright dear, you fell asleep."

 

"Mama." The boy called out. He jumped up and pushed past Roy and ran out the door.

 

"Oh dear." Cried Mrs Bunsen.

 

Roy ran after the boy and saw him run into Johnny's apartment. He had left the door ajar. He followed and saw the boy enter the bedroom. "Mama." Jimmy called out.

 

"Was your mother here?" asked Roy.

 

Jimmy nodded. "She was asleep on the bed. A man sitting there told me to climb through that window and...and..." he couldn't remember the rest.

 

"Jimmy, what did the man look like?" Roy asked.

 

"He had dark hair. He had something over his eyes and I pushed it off his eyes." Said the boy.

 

Roy tried to comprehend what the boy was saying. "Was there anyone else here?" asked Roy.

 

"Dad." Jimmy said looking around the room.

 

"Jimmy what's your last name?" asked Roy hoping the child knew it.

 

"Patterson."

 

Roy rubbed his face. This was getting more complicated by the minute. Roy looked around the room as if looking for a clue. There was nothing to tell him what had happened.

 

Roy looked at the child, "We'll find your mom, don't worry." He motioned for Jimmy to follow him into the front room. He looked back over the room and thought, ‘ _Where are you Junior?’_ He noticed the chair in front of the cupboard but thought nothing of it. Roy made his way into the front room to make some calls.

 

Roy called his Captain and told him what had happened. Cap said to call the police and that he would come right over. Vince, to Roy's relief, arrived and took down all the details. He put an APB out on Frank's car. Another car was sent to Frank's apartment. Both Roy and Cap sat and waited at Johnny's apartment for any news.

 

Unbeknown to Roy and Cap Johnny was desperately trying to call out but through lack of food and water he was unable to produce anything more than a croak. His head was throbbing, he was shaking and sweating. Breathing was becoming so hard his head began to spin. He honestly thought he was going to die.

 

After finally coming to terms with his past, that he had kept hidden for so long, he was now going to leave this earth. He felt grateful for having met and become friends with Roy. His partner had made a huge difference in his life. It was Roy who had helped him find peace with the way he grew up; he was disappointed that he would never get to thank him. Both men had suffered at the hands of their childhood friends but had been able to overcome that with their strong friendship. Johnny slowly closed his eyes saying in his mind _'Goodbye Roy, my friend.’_

 

When Frank arrived home he dumped his ex-wife in his small laundry. She was still unconscious and her head had been bleeding. His phone rang; it was despatch asking him to cover an injured lineman for station 10. He left, after grabbing his gear, and drove to station 10 acting like nothing had happened.

 

When he arrived at station10, most of the crew were still up showering and grabbing something to eat; they had been out fighting a huge fire since early afternoon and had missed dinner. The Captain introduced him to the crew.

 

"So what other stations have you worked at?" Innocently asked the engineer.

 

"36, 43 oh and yeah 51, that was for a month." Frank said 51with a hint of disgust.

 

"Station 51, A shift by any chance?" asked the engineer.

 

"Yeah A shift, I was filling in for Kelly."

 

"Then you would have met our Johnny boy. His one of the Paramedics." The engineer said with affection.

 

"Yeah I met him. Everyone dotes over him. What a loser." Frank said spitefully, not thinking that the station would take offense to his statement.

 

The station's atmosphere changed instantly, the older crewmen gave Frank glares and turned their backs on him. No one except a couple of the younger crew, who were in the shower during the conversation, spoke to him. The engineer then spoke to them and they also turned their backs on Frank.

 

Frank couldn't believe it; John Gage was continually plaguing him. He thought about him lying in the cupboard, and was now hoping that the cupboard became his tomb. Getting revenge on Roy, somehow, had become a lost thought. The station was called out to another structure fire.

 

A warehouse was fully engulfed, a second alarm rang out. Frank was handed a hose and told to take the lead. He was unimpressed that he was being made to work. It was hard going; the old building was collapsing into itself and threatening to spread to surrounding buildings.

 

Word had got to the police that Frank had been called in to work at station 10. Vince, Roy and Cap made their way over to the fire. Despatch warned station 10's captain that the police wanted to talk to Frank about the whereabouts of John Gage. The Captain was a little alarmed after hearing the way Frank had spoken about Johnny.

 

The Captain immediately spoke to his engineer; both had known Johnny since he was nineteen." I'll go in and get him Cap, if you take over here." The engineer took off following the hose Frank was manning.

 

Frank had already asked to be relieved by his backup. He felt a tap on his shoulder, "Captain wants to see you," the engineer told him. They changed places and Frank made his way out of the building.

 

He was glad to get out of the heat and was about to turn in the direction of the engine when he saw the police car pull up and Roy, Cap and Vince get out of the car. He instantly knew why they were there and why he had been asked to go see the Captain.

 

Roy looked up at the fire; it was still out of control. Not a good situation to be asking questions about his partner's whereabouts he thought. He noticed a fireman exit the building and stop abruptly. The fireman then turned and ran round the side of the building; Roy thought that was odd since there were no engines on that side of the building.

 

Vince came back to Roy and Cap and said Frank should have been out here by now; the engineer had gone in to change places with him. Roy started running and called to Vince and Cap to follow. They ran after him not knowing what Roy was doing.

 

Roy stopped when he got to the edge of the warehouse and looked down the side where he last saw the fireman; he now believed to be Frank. He could just make out a figure reaching the far end of the warehouse.

 

"Come on, there he is," yelled Roy as he gestured for them to follow.

 

Vince took the lead as they all ran down the side. He stopped and looked around the back. The fire had clearly reached this part of the warehouse. They walked carefully over the hoses scanning the area for someone lurking, not working. It was Roy who spotted Frank crouching near some wooden boxes stacked against the back wall.

 

Roy slapped Vince on the shoulder and pointed to the crouching figure. Vince nodded and was about to make his way over to the figure when the wall suddenly came crashing down.

 

Bricks, and wooden boxes, came raining down on Frank Patterson. The bricks were hot from the fire. He could feel the heat through his turnout gear. A brick landed on his face; it burned and cut his face. More bricks fell on him, knocking his helmet off and exposing his unprotected head to more bricks.

 

Roy, Cap and Vince raced over to where they last saw Frank. Cap called out to other firemen to come and help move the bricks. It was some time before they finally freed Frank. Roy quickly checked him over.

 

"He has a depressed skull fracture." Roy said with resignation; there was no way they would find out what had happened to Johnny any time soon. Frank was unconscious.

 

The trio slowly walked back to Vince's car. Roy felt a pang in his heart. Somehow he knew time was running out for Johnny. They followed the ambulance to Rampart. Vince received news that Frank's ex-wife had been found dead in Frank's laundry. Roy and Cap looked at each other and wondered if the news would be similar when Johnny was finally found.

 

Both Dr Brackett and Dr Early were examining Frank. Roy and Cap waited in the doctor's lounge. A young policeman was assigned to stand outside Frank's treatment room while Vince went back on patrol. It was five am before they received the news that Frank Patterson had permanent brain damage and would more than likely spend the rest of his days in an institute, locked away.

 

Dr Brackett offered to drive Roy and Cap to Johnny's apartment to pick up their cars. There was nothing more they could do but wait and hope that the police would find Johnny. All three entered Johnny's apartment to have one last look and some of his coffee. Roy needed to be there, to feel a little closer to his best friend. Cap and Dr Brackett wanted to stay close to Roy; they were a little worried about his state of mind.

 

"What happened to Jimmy?" Roy asked Dr Brackett, while he wondered around Johnny's apartment.

 

"An Aunt came to collect him." Dr Brackett sat down on the couch.

 

"I wonder what he did with all of Johnny's photos." Roy looked around at the places where the photos would have been sitting for the world to see. "This room is so bare without them. I don’t know why it took me so long to notice they were missing. I knew something wasn’t right about the apartment. If I had of realised sooner…"

“Don’t Roy. It’s not your fault. Johnny wouldn’t want you blaming yourself.” Dr Brackett assured his paramedic.

 

"Is that the only thing that's out of place Roy?" asked Cap.

 

"All that I can see…" He looked carefully around and then shook his head. Roy sat down in one of Johnny's recliners. He was suddenly exhausted and felt weary to the bone. It had been a long and emotionally tiring night. He remembered Johnny's window was open in his bedroom and walked down the hallway to the room.

 

Brackett and Cap followed Roy into the bedroom. "This is where Jimmy escaped." Roy said as he closed the window. He looked around the room and followed Cap and Brackett out of the room.

 

Roy suddenly stopped and looked back. "You know, that chair I'm sure wasn't there when I first looked for Johnny." Both Cap and Brackett looked at it. Roy walked over and moved the chair back to where it usually was. "See there's marks in the carpet...where the chair normally sits." He looked at his friends, then he looked at the cupboard. His face changed, his eyes grew wide "NO! He couldn't have been here all this time." Roy ran over to the cupboard and opened the door. "Doc! Quick, he’s here." Roy reached in and felt for a pulse. "It's weak and thready," he stated.

 

The three friends reached into the cupboard and carefully lifted Johnny and laid him out on the carpet. "I'll call it in." Cap ran over to the phone next to the bed and called for a squad and ambulance.

 

Dr Brackett looked up and grabbed his keys from his pocket. "Hank can you grab my bag from my car?" he threw them to the Cap.

 

"He's so hot Doc." Roy stated as he removed the gag and blindfold, that was hanging around his neck.

 

"Both his shoulders are dislocated Roy. Be careful moving his arms."

 

"His hands Doc, there swollen around the rope, I can't undo the knot." Roy ran to the kitchen for a knife.

 

When he returned to the room Cap was trying to get the rope off Johnny's feet. "I've got a knife." He knelt down next to Johnny and slowly sliced through the rope. He finally pulled it away from Johnny's hands. Cap pulled the rope from Johnny's feet.

 

Johnny felt light headed, his body felt light, like he was floating on top of water. He opened his eyes and with awareness came sharp pain across his shoulders. Dr Brackett was kneeling over him immobilising his shoulders. Roy and Cap were rubbing his hands. This caused stabbing pain to radiate up his hands. He gasped but little sound came out.

 

All three men turned their heads from what they were concentrating on to Johnny's face. "Johnny." Roy called out hoping to get some sort of response. He was rewarded with fluttering eyes.

 

"He needs water." Brackett ordered. Cap jumped up and ran into the bathroom and filled a cup with some water. "Be very careful, lift him only slightly."

 

Roy gently lifted Johnny's head and Cap put the cup to his lips. "Drink Johnny..." Johnny greedily gulped at the water, Cap pulled the cup away "Slowly Johnny." Roy cautioned.

 

Johnny nodded his head slightly and took little sips of water. Sirens could be heard in the distance. "We'll give you something for the pain Johnny, as soon as the squad gets here." Brackett smiled at his friend.

 

Johnny laid his head back down, the pain from his shoulders was overwhelming him and his head was throbbing. He wanted to talk but he couldn't rally the energy to complete the simple task. He laid there looking at his ceiling wishing for the squad to hurry up. Every so often one of his friends' faces would come into his line of vision. He tried to smile but again it took too much energy to perform the task.

 

There was a sudden flurry of activity. IVs were established and then the cold feeling ran up his arm and he was sent into a world of bliss. He didn't care anymore what they did; Johnny just enjoyed the feeling of ecstasy.

 

Roy was worried about Johnny's lack of response. Dr Brackett told him it was because Johnny was so dehydrated and in so much pain. Roy accepted this but worried that Johnny may be blaming him for Frank's actions. Cap recognised the signs and immediately admonished Roy for feeling guilty. He didn't make Frank be who he was, just by being a childhood friend.

 

"You're right...Frank stopped being a friend the day he met Johnny." Roy said with sadness. "You know I still don't know why he didn't like Johnny."

 

"And we never will," injected Cap.

 

Johnny was lifted onto the gurney and wheeled out. Brackett and one of the attending Paramedics accompanied Johnny in the ambulance. Cap drove Dr Brackett's car and Roy drove his own car to the hospital. They all met in the ER; there was a burst of activity. Vince walked in and joined the waiting friends. Soon, Chet, Marco, Mike and a number of firemen from station 10 joined the group of Johnny's friends. Cap spoke to the Captain and engineer of 10s, letting them know what had happened. They were shaking their heads and told Cap how Frank spoke horribly of Johnny.

 

"So you think he just didn't like Johnny?" asked Roy joining in on the conversation.

 

"No it was more than that, there was malice. He tried to hide behind a face of ‘Joking’ but we could all see he hated Johnny," said the engineer.

 

"But why, I don't get why he didn't like Johnny," exclaimed Roy.

 

"That's simple; it was because he hated his own life, he was jealous of Johnny. ...Johnny's love for life and energy," said the Captain of 10s.

 

"He was too lazy to change his own life, just expected everything to be handed to him without working for it," said Mike. Everyone around him nodded in agreement. Mike hit the nail on the head.

 

The group sat in silence lost in their own thoughts; thinking about the young free spirited, but sensitive, Johnny Gage. Dr Brackett entered the lounge and smiled.

 

In the treatment room Johnny had told his story to Vince while Dr Brackett, Dr Early and Dixie stood nearby. Johnny's voice faltered when he spoke of waking up in darkness tied to what he realised later was his bed. He went on and described being almost drowned. Dr Brackett injected a small dose of diazepam into Johnny's IV at that point. Dixie had tears in her eyes. She was openly crying when Johnny confessed that he thought he was going to die and had said goodbye to Roy. Dr Brackett nodded to Vince that Johnny had had enough.

 

"If you need anything more it will have to wait. Johnny needs to rest." Dr Brackett spoke without question that the interview was over. Vince nodded; he was shaken by what Johnny had told him. He felt appalled that someone could treat another human being so badly.

 

"He's dehydrated and has two dislocated shoulders. He has a lot of bruises...but he's going to be alright. It will be some time before he's fully fit for work but I'm confident, with the help from his friends, he'll amaze me by recovering well before my estimated time of recovery." Dr Brackett smiled at the group of friends waiting in the lounge.

 

Everyone smiled and sighed with relief. Hands were shook and many made their way home, station 10's members were especially tired after fighting two major fires. None of them had asked after Frank, they simply didn't care.

 

Roy and Cap entered the treatment room; Johnny was dozing on the bed. Dixie was stroking his forehead, brushing his hair back. She looked up and smiled, "He's awake but he's very weak. Keep it short, we'll be moving him soon to a room." She got up and left the room.

 

Roy rubbed his hands on his legs, he was nervous. Johnny slowly opened his eyes as if sensing their presence. He smiled at his friends and turned his head to make close eye contact with Roy. Roy smiled and nodded to his partner.

 

Relief enveloped Roy and he felt a new sense of deep affection for his partner. Something had changed; their close friendship had gone a step further. Roy was no longer looking at his partner, best friend; he was looking at his brother.

 

Cap cleared his throat; he had seen the deep connection made by his two paramedics. "How are you feeling John?"

 

"I'm getting there Cap. Thanks for finding me." Johnny's eyes drooped; he was finding it very difficult to keep them open.

 

"Johnny." Roy lightly touched Johnny's arm and waited for him to open his eyes "I'm sorry Junior. I'll come and see you tomorrow when you're more awake and feeling a bit better." Roy brushed Johnny's hair back just as Dixie had done earlier. Johnny's eyes closed, a sense of contentment was reflected from Johnny's face.

 

Roy knew they would talk later and come to terms with what had happened. Both men had suffered, but their solid friendship would overcome everything. Johnny no longer hid his feelings from Roy, and Roy had learned from his young friend how to express his feelings more openly. Between them they would come through this ordeal stronger.

 

A door to a small room was locked. Frank Patterson stared at the wall unaware of the world around him. An NG tube was feeding him the nutrients required to keep him alive, swallowing food was arduous as he choked on anything solid. His staring eyes were unnerving, as malice lurked just below the surface. No one but Frank Patterson knew what he was seeing. The images of John Gage and Roy DeSoto floated around his room taunting him. A small flame of rage ignited deep within him turning on lights of awareness in his damaged brain.

 

 

 


End file.
